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Australian airline passengers who are considering buying a controversial gadget that stops the seat in front of them from reclining will be wasting their money.

Australia's largest airline companies, Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar, have confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the Knee Defender gadget is banned on their flights.

The airlines say the American legroom gizmo breaches the same rules that stop people taking drugs and smoking on planes.

There has been a surge in global sales for the Knee Defender after a fight between two passengers broke out on a United Airlines jet on August 24.

Locked and loaded: Most airlines prohibit the use the of the Knee Defender, the male passenger allegedly used one so he could continue working on his laptop

The plane was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Chicago after a woman on the flight threw water at a man seated behind her who used the $21.95 ($A23.57) device to stop her reclining her seat on the four-hour flight from Newark to Denver.

The Knee Defender's website crashed on Tuesday after travellers flocked to get their hands on the gizmo.

Sales for the plastic clips also saw a substantial boost, inventor Ira Goldman told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Goldman, an 170 cm-tall American man, designed the U-shaped device that fits over the arms of the seat-back tray table in 2003.

'Qantas would not permit attachments such as the Knee Defender to aircraft seats, and in any event such attachments would need to undergo stringent reviews to ensure they comply with Australian safety regulations in the first instance before being considered,' a Qantas spokesperson said.

Australia's largest airline companies, Qantas and Virgin, have confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the Knee Defender gadget is banned on their flights

'We find that our passengers tend to be courteous to those around them, and are mindful of the times during which it might be less convenient to recline their seats inflight such as during meal times,' they added.

Virgin Australia said: 'The use of knee defenders or similar device would be in breach of our conditions of carriage.

'The safety and comfort of our guests remains our highest priority.'

The conditions of carriage include: 'You must not behave in a manner which would be considered by a reasonable person to be offensive, or in a manner which might cause discomfort, distress, offence or injury to another person,' and you must not 'disobey the directions of the flight crew'.

They also explain that you are not allowed to 'tamper, interfere with or damage any part of the aircraft' or 'do anything which may endanger the safety of the aircraft on which you are travelling, or the safety of our flight crew or your fellow passengers'.

A spokesperson for Jetstar said: 'We've seen no evidence to suggest the use of knee defenders is a common or frequent occurrence on our services.'

'From an onboard policy perspective, we'd consider the attachment of the devices an aircraft modification and as such wouldn't permit their use in-flight.

'All modifications to our aircraft must be undertaken by trained and approved engineers to ensure they comply with Australian safety regulations,' they added.

During the on board fight on Sunday in America, the pilot made an emergency landing and the two passengers, both 48, were arrested.

The Federal Aviation Administration in America leaves it up to individual airlines to set rules about the controversial devices.

Controversial: The Knee Defender consists of two plastic locks that are clipped onto the arms of a tray table (pictured) that prevents the person in front from reclining. The gadget caused a flight on a United Airlines flight this week

Tiny: The Knee Defender, which is about the size of a house key, retails for about $19.95, but is banned by all major American airlines

But United Airlines said it prohibits use of the device, like all major U.S. airlines. Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air take the reclining mechanisms out of their seats, leaving them permanently upright.

Chicago Police and TSA officers met the flight, spoke to the passengers and 'deemed it a customer service issue', Transportation Security Administration spokesman Ross Feinstein said.

The TSA would not name the passengers.

The plane then continued to Denver without them, arriving 1 hour and 38 minutes late, according to the airline's website.

The Federal Aviation Administration can impose a civil fine of up to $25,000 for passengers who are unruly. In this case, no arrest was made, according to airport spokesman Gregg Cunningham.

The fight started when the male passenger, seated in a middle seat of row 12, used the Knee Defender to stop the woman in front of him from reclining while he was on his laptop, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak.

Emergency landing: United Flight 1462 from Newark, New Jersey to Denver had to make an emergency landing in Chicago, causing the flight to be one hour and 38 minutes late to its final destination

A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused.

The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him, the official says.

That's when United decided to land in Chicago.

Both passengers were sitting in United's Economy Plus section, the part of the plane that has four more inches of legroom than the rest of coach.